Automatic dispensing device for particulate material

ABSTRACT

An automatic dispensing device for particulate material, such as fish food in a powdered or flake form, includes a clock arranged so that its hands close and open a switch in an electrical circuit. A vibrating device is connected to the circuit for operation when the switch is closed for vibrating a container from which the particulate material is dispensed. The hands on the clock, and particularly the minute hand, is shaped to afford a fine adjustment of the duration of the vibrating action. Further, a container with an agitating member at its outlet affords effective dispensing of individual particles of flakeform fish food under the action of the vibrating device. The agitating member provides a valve-like action at the outlet and can be in the form of a sphere, a cone and other compatible shapes.

3,762,374 1 1 Oct. 2, 1973 AUTOMATIC DISPENSING'DEVICE FOR PARTICULA'IEMATERIAL [76] Inventor: George Szekely, 3123 Bailey Ave.,

' New York, NY. 10463 [22] Filed: May 31, 1972 [21'] Appl. No.: 258,430

[52] US. Cl. ll9/5l.ll [51] Int. Cl A0lk 5/02 [58] Field of Search..l19/5,5l.l1; 222/70, 161

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,725,852 12/1955 Cramer119/5 X 3,371,652 [3/1968 Louks etal. l19/5l.ll 3,416,497 12/1968 Riell19/5l.1l 3,605,697 9/1971 Szekely 119/5l.ll

Primary Examincrl.ouis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-J. A. OliffAttorney-David Toren et al.

[57] ABSTRACT An automatic dispensing device for particulate material,such as fish food in a powdered or flake-form, includes a clock arrangedso that its hands close and open a switch in an electrical circuit. Avibrating device is connected to the circuit for operation when theswitch is closed for vibrating a container from which the particulatematerial is dispensed. The hands on the clock, and particularly'theminute hand, is shaped to afford a fine adjustment of the duration ofthe vibrating action. Further, a container with an agitating member atits outlet affords effective dispensing of individual particles offlake-form fish food under the action of the vibrating device. Theagitating member provides a valvelike action at the outlet and can bein'the form of a sphere, a cone and other compatible shapes.

18 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED U975 FIG..7

F'IG.I

AUTOMATIC DISPENSING DEVICE FOR PARTICULATE MATERIAL SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION The present invention is directed to an automatic dispensingdevice for particulate material and, more particularly, it concerns adevice for automatically dispensing fish food into an aquarium tank.

Fish kept in aquarium tanks should not be fed at one time more food thanthey normally consume.- If during one feeding period food sufficient forseveral days is dispensed into the tank, it willresult in overfeedingand fouling of the tank whichfactors kill more fish than any othercause. Fish should be fed regularly twice a day and normally the feedingis effected by manually shaking a container to sprinkle the fish food ina particulate form into the tank. In a manual feeding operation thequantity of food dispensed is not uniform from feeding to feeding, andvery often it is difficult to maintain a regular feeding schedule.

In the past there have been various automatic fish feeding devicesproposed however, generally speaking, they have been unreliable andcostly. In my U.S. :Pat. No. 3,605,697, issued 9, 20, 1971, an automaticfeeder was disclosed in which an alarm clock transmitted a vibratingaction to a container for dispensing the fish food into an aquariumtank. Normally, alarm clocks have an alarm which continues operating forabout 45 minutes, however, it has been found that sufficient food for asingle feeding can be dispensed in about .to seconds. Therefore, toadjust conventional alarm clocks to a shorter period for dispensing thefish food, a device was added, note FIG. 4 of my patent, for shorteningthe period during which the vibration took place.

Therefore, the primary object of the present invention, is to provide animprovement over my patent in which the duration of the vibrating actionis achieved by a clock mechanism without the use of an alarm.

Another object of the invention is to provide a special configuration tothe hour and minute hands, and particularly to the minute hand, forobtaining a fine adjustment. of the time period during which the fishfood or other particulate material is dispensed.

Still another object of the present invention is to afford a containerarrangement which is particularly useful in dispensing fish food inflake form.

Yet another object is to provide a valve-like member at the outlet fromthe container which acts as an agitator due to the vibrating action fordispensing individual flakes of the fish food.

Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, the minute and hourhands on a clock are arranged to close and open a switch in anelectrical circuit for operating a vibrating device. A container holdingthe fish food or other particulatematerial to be dispensed isoperatively associated with the vibrating device so that the requisiteamount of material is discharged from the container during each periodin which the vibrating device is operated by closing the switch. Theswitch includes a pair of elongated contact springs arranged to be movedtoward one another for closing the switch. The ends of the contactsprings are positioned in the path of the hands on the clock so thateach of the hands contacts one of the springs once during each of itscomplete paths around the face of the clock. When the hour hand contactsits corresponding contact spring it displaces it toward the other springwithout effecting contact. Then, as the minute hand moves past the othercontact spring it depresses it so that contact is made and the switch isclosed. The time period during which the switch is kept closed isdetermined by the configuing individual flakes from the container.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which there are illustrated and described preferredembodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a device, embodying thepresent invention, for dispensing fish food into a tank;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a portion of thedevice shown in 'FIG. 1 for regulating the period for dispensing foodfrom the container;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of another container arrangement foruse with the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along'the lines V-V in FIG. 4',

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines VI-VI in FIG. 4; and

FIG. '7 is sectional view taken along the lines VII- --VII in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 'rial refers to powdered and flakeform fish food and other small particle materials.

The clock mechanism 14 consists of a conventional face 20 with an hourhand 22 and a minute hand 24 mounted to move around the face. Thehour'hand makes one complete sweep of the'face each 12 hours while theminute hand makes one complete'sweep each hour. As can be seen in thedrawing, particularly in FIG. 3, the surfaces of the hour hand andminute hand facing one another are provided with a special configurationfor regulating the period in which the vibrating action takes place. Thesurface 220 of the hour hand is flat and relatively broad or wide ascompared with the minute hand. The upper surface of the minute hand hasa somewhat flattened V-shaped configuration providing an apex line 24bextending radially along its upper surface. Centered on the lowersurface 24c of the minute hand is a downwardly extending projection 24dwhich is rounded at its end spaced from the lower surface 24c.

In the electrical circuit 16 is a switch 30 consisting of a pair ofelongated contact springs 32,34 which extend inwardly over the face ofthe clock 20 into the path of the hour and minute hands so that as thehour hand sweeps over the face it contacts the spring contact 32 andsimilarly as the minute hand moves over the face it contacts the springcontact 34. Preferably, the switch 30 can be movably positioned aboutthe face of the clock so that the desired time for the feeding operationcan be selected. Alternatively, it would be possible to mount the clockmechanism 14 in the device so that it could be moved relative to theswitch held in a stationary position.

On each of the juxtaposed surfaces of the contact springs 32,34, arounded contact 32a, 34a is provided so that when the contact springs32, 34 are depressed toward one another by the hour hand 22 and minutehand 24, respectively, the contacts 32a, 34a are disposed in surfacecontact and close the switch providing a flow of current through theelectrical circuit 16. A source of alternating current 26 is providedwithin the electrical circuit. Further, an insulated holder 28 mountsthe outwardly disposed ends of the contact springs 32, 34 at which theconnections into the electrical circuit are provided. The ends 32b, 34bof the contact springs 32, 34 which engage the surfaces of the hour handand the minute hand have a V-shaped configuration so that the apexformed by the V is directed toward the surface of the hand whichthecontact spring engages.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, an adjustment assembly 36 is mounted inthe device 10 in alignment with the ends 32b, 34b of the contact springs32, 34 for adjusting the time period during which the minute hand 24 ismaintained in contact with the contact spring 34 for keeping the switch30 closed. The adjustment assembly consists of a threaded rod or pin 38in threaded engagement with the casing 11 of the device 10 and with aknob or button 40 located on the end of the rod 38 positioned on theexterior of the casing 11 for threading the rod inwardly or outwardlyrelative to the casing. Within the casing a guide element 42 is securedto and extends laterally from the pin 38 and provides the contact withthe apex 24d on the surface 24a of the minute hand.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the vibrating device 18 is connected into theelectrical circuit so that it is actuated when the switch 30 is closedby the hour hand and minute hand. The vibrating device includes anelectrical coil 44 tied into the electrical circuit 16 and an armaturespring 46 associated with the coil and connected to a support 50 for thecontainer 12. Further, at the upper end of the armature spring 46, abase 48 is shown for supporting the spring and the structure associatedwith it. When the switch 30 is closed and alternating current passesthrough the electrical circuit, the electrical coil or electromagnet 44causes the armature spring to vibrate and a vibrating action istransmitted to the container 12.

The container 12 consists of a plastic receptacle 52 with a cover 54mounted on its lower ends. A discharge opening 56 or a plurality of suchopenings are provided in the cover 54 for dispensing the fish food orother particulate material from the container. Preferably, the container12 shown in FIG. 2 is used when fish food in a powdered form isdispensed into the aquariumv tank T.

ln FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7, a container 60 is illustrated for use in placeof the container 12 when fish food in flake form is being dispensed.Such fish food consists of fatty scales which have a tendency to lumptogether into larger particles or pieces which interfere with a uniformautomatic dispensing operation. Further, if the container is shaken orvibrated the tendency of the flake form particles to stick together isincreased. However, if an agitating member is incorporated into thecontainer, during the vibration it tends to comminute or break up thegroups of flakes and to feed the individual flake form particles througha dispensing opening. The agitating member provides a valve-like actionat the container outlet. variously shaped agitating members can be used,for example, hemispheres, spheres, cones, frustums of cones, plates andmushroom shaped mem bers. 1

As shown in FIG. 4, the container 60 consists of a cylindrically shapedmember 62 open at its upper end and closed at its lower end by thebottom wall 64 with an opening 66 located centrally in the bottom wall.The snap-on lid 68 forms a closure for the upper end of the cylinder 62and the lid has an opening 70 located along the central axis of thecylinder. At the lower end of the cylinder a sleeve-like section 72extends downwardly from the bottom wall 64 and a cap 74 is fitted ontothe sleeve-like section and forms, in combination with the bottom of thecylinder 62, an outlet chamber 76 from the container 60.

The cylinder 62 forms a storage chamber 78 from which the flake formfish food is fed through the opening 66 into the outlet chamber 76.

When used in the dispensing device shown in FIG. 1, the container 60would be supported on the support member 50 and vibrated in an up anddown direction, that is in the direction of the central axis of thecontainer, in response to the action of the vibrating device 18.

At the lower ends of the chamber 78, four equiangularly spacedprojections 80 are provided on the periphery of the opening 66 extendinginwardly toward the axis of the container which extends through thecenter of the opening. In its rest position, an agitating memberprovided by a ball or spherically shaped member 82 fits into the openingand rests against or in contact with the projections 80 so that a narrowopen passage is provided between the surface of the ball 82 and theperiphery of the opening 66. The ball is a solid member formed of glassor a plastic material which is highly polished. Though a sphericallyshaped member may be preferred under certain conditions, other shapes,as indicated above, can be used. Located above the ball and spaced fromit is a hood-shaped member 84 having a hemispherically shaped surfacecorresponding, in general, to the shape of the ball 82. The hood-shapedmember 84 shields the ball 82 from the weight of the material within thechamber 78. About the lower edge of the hood-shaped member 84 andextending outwardly toward the inner surface of the cylinder 62 arethree support members 86 equiangularly spaced apart. The inner walls ofthe cylinder 62, the upper surface of the hood-shaped member- 84, andthe supports 86 define three outlet paths extending from the lower endof the chamber 78 to the opening 66.

Extending downwardly into the chamber 78 through the opening 70 in thelid 68 is a rod 90 with a threaded section 92 at its lower ends inthreaded engagement with and extending through the crown or upperportion of the hood-shaped member 84. The lower end of the rod 90 has arounded off point which limits the movement of the ball in the upwarddirection. Secured to the rod 90 at a position spaced above its threadedend 92 is a stop member 94. A spiral spring 96 is positioned about therod 90 and extends from the upper surface of the stop 94 to the lowersurface of a washer 98 which is seated within the opening 70 through thelid 68. The washer 98 has an opening through which the rod extendsupwardly above the container 60. On the upper end of the rod 90, abovethe lid 68, is a knob 100 for adjusting the resilient-biasing actionprovided by the spring 96. By varying the threaded engagement of thethreaded end 92 of the rod in the hood-shaped member, the biasing actionprovided'by the spring 96 can be adjusted as well as locating therounded off point of the rod relative to the ball.

When the container 60'is vibrated, the ball 82 moves in the upward anddownward direction due to the vibration and grips individual particlesor flakes of the fish food and displaces them through the opening 66into the chamber 76 from where they drop into the aquarium tank T. Byadjusting the biasing action afforded by the spring 96, the oscillatingamplitude of the ball 82 can be varied and the extent or manner'in whichthe individual flakes aredisplaced into the outlet chamber 76 can becontrolled. The ball 82 is a solid member so that it is relatively heavyand will return to its position within the opening 66 when it is atrest. In addition to its vibratory or oscillatory movement, the ballalso effects a rotational movement so that the individual flakes of fishfood which adhere to its surface are removed.

Frequently, due to vibration, the individual flakes develop anelectrostatic charge which, in turn, causes the individual flakes toadhere to one another in a chainlike manner and pass through thecontainer as such a chain. To avoid this effect, the rod 90 is formed ofa metallic material.

in operating the dispensing device, the switch is positioned to beintercepted by the hour hand 22 and the minute hand 24 at a particulartime. initially the flat surface 22a of the hour hand contacts theV-shaped end 32b of the contact springs 32 and moves or depresses ittoward the other contact spring 34. The extent to which the hour handdepresses the contact springs 32 is insufficient to provide engagementbetween the contacts 32a and 34a. As the minute hand 24 starts to passover the hour hand its projection 24d contacts the apex of the V-shapedend 34 of the contact spring 34 and displaces it toward the othercontact spring so that the contacts 32a, 34a are in engagement and closethe switch 34 operating the vibrating device 18 and thereby effect adispensing action of the partic ulate material within the container 12or 60. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the surface of the minute hand on itsprojection 24d which contacts the end 34b of the contact spring isrounded and thereby affords a variable time period in which thecontacts32a and 34a can be held in engagement. By means of the adjustmentassembly 36, the position of the minute hand relative to the end 34b ofthe spring 34 can be varied. in accordance with the extent to which theminute hand 24 is depressed downwardly toward the contact spring 34 theapex of the V-shaped end 34b of the contact springs will engage therounded projection 24d at its lowermost surface as viewed in FIG. 3 orat a position spaced above its lowermost surface so that the time inwhich the minute hand contacts the contact spring is increased.

After determining the time at which the food is to be dispensed, bymeans of the adjustment assembly 36 the duration of the time duringwhich the dispensing takes place can be regulated. This adjustment canbe made quickly on a trial-and-error basis. Further, when the flake formparticulate material is being dispensed the biasing action provided bythe springs 96 can also be adjusted to afford the proper flow of theindividual flakes into the outlet chamber 76 and theninto the tank itshould be noted that the switching movement provided by the hands andthe contact springs amount to only several tenths of a millimeter.Further, the electric current required for the vibrating device is sosmall that troublefree operation is assured.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown in detail toillustrate the application of the inventive principles, it will beunderstood that the invention may be embodied otherwise withoutdeparting from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic dispensing device for dispensing particulate materialincluding a clock having an-hour hand and a minute hand, an electricalcircuit including a switch closable and openable by the operation ofsaid clock, vibrating means associated with said electrical circuit foractuation upon closing of said switch and for deactivation upon openingof said'switch, and a dispensing container associated with saidvibrating means for dispensing a particulate material from saidcontainer when vibrated by said vibrating means, wherein the improvementcomprises: said hour hand and said minute hand being disposed in spacedrelationship when one is aligned opposite the other as the minute handcrosses the path of said hour hand once each hour, said switch includesa first elongated contact spring and asecond elongated contact springarranged in juxtaposed spaced relationship to one another withoppositely disposed surfaces on said springs positioned between saidhour hand and said minute hand once during each complete cycle ofmovement of said hour hand on said clock, said first elongated contactspring having a first contact and said second elongated contact springhaving a second contact, said hour hand contacting and displacing saidfirst contact spring towards said second contact spring as it moves pastsaid first contact spring, said minute hand contacting and displacingsaid second contact spring toward said first contact spring to engagesaid first and second contacts for closing said switch, and meansassociated with said minute hand for adjusting the period of contactbetween said minute hand and said second contact spring.

2. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidmeans associated with said minutc hand comprises a stationary supportspaced from said minute hand, a member movably mounted in said supportand arranged at one end to contact said minute hand and adjustably movesaid minute hand selectively one of toward and away from said secondcontact springs.

3. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 2, wherein saidmember has a rod-like configuration and is threaded into said supportand a knob is mounted on the opposite end of said member from the endarranged to contact said minute hand for manually adjusting the extentto which said minute hand is displaced into engagement with said secondcontact spring as it moves between said member and said second contactspring.

4. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 3, wherein thesurface of said minute hand arranged to contact said second contactspring is shaped for varying the period of contact between said minutehand and said second contact spring.

5. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 4, wherein thesurface of said minute hand arranged to contact said second contactspring has a projection extending from said minute hand toward saidsecond contact spring and the surface of said projection arranged tocontact said second contact spring is rounded in a plane extendingtransversely of the axis of said minute hand so that by depressing saidminute hand toward said second contact spring the surface of contact ofsaid projection with said second contact spring is increased.

6. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 5, wherein saidhour hand has a flat surface arranged to contact said first contactspring and the length of the line of contact between the flat surface ofsaid hour hand and said first contact spring as said hour hand moves isgreater than the length of the line of contact between said projectionon said minute hand and said second contact spring.

7. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 6, wherein thesurface of said first and second contact springs arranged to becontacted by said hour hand and minute hand, respectively, is V-shapedwith the apex of the V-shaped configuration directed toward the one ofsaid hour hand and minute hand which it contacts.

8. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 7, wherein asurface of said minute hand arranged to contact the one end of saidmember is shaped to provide a line of contact therebetween.

9. A dispensing device, as set forth in claim 8, wherein a contactelement is secured to the one end of said member and has a greaterdiameter than and extends laterally outwardly from said member and has aflat surface for contacting said minute hand.

10. A dispensing device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said containercomprises first wall means forming an upright storage chamber with anopening at its lower end, said chamber arranged to hold a quantity ofparticulate materials to be dispensed from said container, second wallmeans secured to said first wall means and located below the opening inthe lower end of said storage chamber, said second wall means forming anoutlet chamber arranged in communication with said storage chamber forreceiving particulate material through the opening in the lower end ofsaid storage chamber, said second wall means having an opening fordischarging particulate material from said container and meanspositioned within said upright chamber for facilitating the passage ofparticulate material from the storage chamber into the outlet chamber,said means within said upright chamber including an element arranged forat least partially closing the opening from the storage chamber and forregulating the passage of the particulate material into the outletchamber, said element arranged to be displaced in the upright directionin response to the vibrating action of said vibrating means for movementupwardly out of and downwardly into the opening in the lower end of thestorage chamber for separating individual particles of the particulatematerial and feeding the individual particles to said outlet chamber.

11. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 10, whereinsaid element is spherically shaped and said means within said uprightchamber holds said element in the opening in the lower end of thestorage chamber when said vibrating means is deactivated.

12. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 1 1, whereinsaid means within said upright chamber comprises a hood positionedwithin the storage chamber and having a hemispherical surface having aradius similar to and arranged in closely spaced relationship above theupper surface of said spherically shaped element, a member secured toand extending through said hood and also toward said spherically shapedelement, extending upwardly from said hood, spring means associated withsaid member secured to said hood for biasing said hood and sphericallyshaped element in the downward direction, and adjustment meansassociated with said member secured to said hood and said spring meansfor varying the biasing action of said spring means and regulating theamplitude of the oscillatory movement of said spherically shaped elementunder the action of said vibrating means.

13. A dispensing device, as set forth in claim 12, wherein said membersecured to said hood is rodshaped and is in threaded engagement withsaid hood, said rod-shaped member extends from said hood upwardlythrough the upper end of said storage chamber, a stop member secured toand extending outwardly from said rod-shaped member at a position spacedupwardly from said hood and below the upper end of the storage chamber,a washer fitted about said rod-shaped member above said stop memberwithin said storage chamber, and a spring encircling said rod-shapedmember with its lower end in contact with said stop member and its upperend in contact with said washer for displacing said washer against theupper end of said storage chamber.

14. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 13, whereinsaid first wall means includes a removable cover forming a closure forthe upper end of said storage chamber, said cover having an openingtherethrough and said rod-shaped member extending upwardly through theopening with its upper end positioned above said cover, a grip securedto the upper end of said member for adjustably threading it relative tosaid hood for varying the spring biasing action on said hood and saidspherically shaped member and positioning the lower end of said memberrelative to said spherically shaped member.

space between said spherically shaped member and the 7 surface formingsaid opening.

16. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 15, whereinsaid hood is spaced inwardly from the inner surface of said storagechamber and three equiangularly spaced support members are secured toand extend outwardly from the lower end of said hood to the innersurface of said storage chamber, and said support members are arrangedto seat against the lower end of said storage chamber, and the innersurface of said storage chamber, said support members and the outwardlyfacing surfaces of said hood defining passageways about said hooddownwardly to the opening from the lower end of the storage chamber.

17. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 16, whereinsaid second wall means are removably secured to the lower end of saidfirst wall means by a snap lock engagement.

18. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 16, whereinsaid spherically shaped member is solid and is formed of one of glassand a plastic material and has a highly polished surface.

1. An automatic dispensing device for dispensing particulate materialincluding a clock having an hour hand and a minute hand, an electricalcircuit including a switch closable and openable by the operation ofsaid clock, vibrating means associated with said electrical circuit foractuation upon closing of said switch and for deactivation upon openingof said switch, and a dispensing container associated with saidvibrating means for dispensing a particulate material from saidcontainer when vibrated by said vibrating means, wherein the improvementcomprises: said hour hand and said minute hand being disposed in spacedrelationship when one is aligned opposite the other as the minute handcrosses the path of said hour hand once each hour, said switch includesa first elongated contact spring and a second elongated contact springarranged in juxtaposed spaced relationship to one another withoppositely disposed surfaces on said springs positioned between saidhour hand and said minute hand once during each complete cycle ofmovement of said hour hand on said clock, said first elongated contactspring having a first contact and said second elongated contact springhaving a second contact, said hour hand contacting and displacing saidfirst contact spring towards said second contact spring as it moves pastsaid first contact spring, said minute hand contacting and displacingsaid second contact spring toward said first contact spring to engagesaid first and second contacts for closing said switch, and meansassociated with said minute hand for adjusting the period of contactbetween said minute hand and said second contact spring.
 2. An automaticdispensing device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said meansassociated with said minute hand comprises a stationary support spacedfrom said minute hand, a member movably mounted in said support andarranged at one end to contact said minute hand and adjustably move saidminute hand selectively one of toward and away from said second contactsprings.
 3. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 2,wherein said member has a rod-like configuration and is threaded intosaid support and a knob is mounted on the opposite end of said memberfrom the end arranged to contact said minute hand for manually adjustingthe extent to which said minute hand is displaced into engagement withsaid second contact spring as it moves between said member and saidsecond contact spring.
 4. An automatic dispensing device, as set forthin claim 3, wherein the surface of said minute hand arranged to contactsaid second contact spring is shaped for varying the period of contactbetween said minute hand and said second contact spring.
 5. An automaticdispensing device, as set forth in claim 4, wherein the surface of saidminute hand arranged to contact said second contact spring has aprojection extending from said minute hand toward said second contactspring and the surface of said projection arranged to contact saidsecond contact spring is rounded in a plane extending transversely ofthe axis of said minute hand so that by depressing said minute handtoward said second contact spring the surface of contact of saidprojection with said second contact spring is increased.
 6. An automaticdispensing device, as set forth in claim 5, wherein said hour hand has aflat surface arranged to contact said first contact spring and thelength of the line of contact between the flat surface of said hour handand said first contact spring as said hour hand moves is greater thanthe length of the line of contact between said projection on said minutehand and said second contact spring.
 7. An automatic dispensing device,as set forth in claim 6, wherein the surface of said first and secondcontact springs arranged to be contacted by said hour hand and minutehand, respectively, is V-shaped witH the apex of the V-shapedconfiguration directed toward the one of said hour hand and minute handwhich it contacts.
 8. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth inclaim 7, wherein a surface of said minute hand arranged to contact theone end of said member is shaped to provide a line of contacttherebetween.
 9. A dispensing device, as set forth in claim 8, wherein acontact element is secured to the one end of said member and has agreater diameter than and extends laterally outwardly from said memberand has a flat surface for contacting said minute hand.
 10. A dispensingdevice, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said container comprises firstwall means forming an upright storage chamber with an opening at itslower end, said chamber arranged to hold a quantity of particulatematerials to be dispensed from said container, second wall means securedto said first wall means and located below the opening in the lower endof said storage chamber, said second wall means forming an outletchamber arranged in communication with said storage chamber forreceiving particulate material through the opening in the lower end ofsaid storage chamber, said second wall means having an opening fordischarging particulate material from said container and meanspositioned within said upright chamber for facilitating the passage ofparticulate material from the storage chamber into the outlet chamber,said means within said upright chamber including an element arranged forat least partially closing the opening from the storage chamber and forregulating the passage of the particulate material into the outletchamber, said element arranged to be displaced in the upright directionin response to the vibrating action of said vibrating means for movementupwardly out of and downwardly into the opening in the lower end of thestorage chamber for separating individual particles of the particulatematerial and feeding the individual particles to said outlet chamber.11. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 10, whereinsaid element is spherically shaped and said means within said uprightchamber holds said element in the opening in the lower end of thestorage chamber when said vibrating means is deactivated.
 12. Anautomatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 11, wherein saidmeans within said upright chamber comprises a hood positioned within thestorage chamber and having a hemispherical surface having a radiussimilar to and arranged in closely spaced relationship above the uppersurface of said spherically shaped element, a member secured to andextending through said hood and also toward said spherically shapedelement, extending upwardly from said hood, spring means associated withsaid member secured to said hood for biasing said hood and sphericallyshaped element in the downward direction, and adjustment meansassociated with said member secured to said hood and said spring meansfor varying the biasing action of said spring means and regulating theamplitude of the oscillatory movement of said spherically shaped elementunder the action of said vibrating means.
 13. A dispensing device, asset forth in claim 12, wherein said member secured to said hood isrod-shaped and is in threaded engagement with said hood, said rod-shapedmember extends from said hood upwardly through the upper end of saidstorage chamber, a stop member secured to and extending outwardly fromsaid rod-shaped member at a position spaced upwardly from said hood andbelow the upper end of the storage chamber, a washer fitted about saidrod-shaped member above said stop member within said storage chamber,and a spring encircling said rod-shaped member with its lower end incontact with said stop member and its upper end in contact with saidwasher for displacing said washer against the upper end of said storagechamber.
 14. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 13,wherein said first wall means includes a removable cover forming aclosure for the upper end of said storage chamber, said cover having anopening therethrough and said rod-shaped member extending upwardlythrough the opening with its upper end positioned above said cover, agrip secured to the upper end of said member for adjustably threading itrelative to said hood for varying the spring biasing action on said hoodand said spherically shaped member and positioning the lower end of saidmember relative to said spherically shaped member.
 15. An automaticdispensing device, as set forth in claim 14, wherein said first wallmeans includes a plurality of angularly spaced projections extendinginwardly into the opening of the lower end of said storage chamber, saidprojections arranged to contact the surface of said spherically shapedmember and to space it from the surface defining said opening to providea space between said spherically shaped member and the surface formingsaid opening.
 16. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim15, wherein said hood is spaced inwardly from the inner surface of saidstorage chamber and three equiangularly spaced support members aresecured to and extend outwardly from the lower end of said hood to theinner surface of said storage chamber, and said support members arearranged to seat against the lower end of said storage chamber, and theinner surface of said storage chamber, said support members and theoutwardly facing surfaces of said hood defining passageways about saidhood downwardly to the opening from the lower end of the storagechamber.
 17. An automatic dispensing device, as set forth in claim 16,wherein said second wall means are removably secured to the lower end ofsaid first wall means by a snap lock engagement.
 18. An automaticdispensing device, as set forth in claim 16, wherein said sphericallyshaped member is solid and is formed of one of glass and a plasticmaterial and has a highly polished surface.